EditorialAng BayanOctober 7, 2014Download PDF Here in PilipinoBenigno Aquino III is clinging to power like a leech in refusing to heed mounting calls for his resignation, removal or ouster from power. His stuuborn refusal to leave Malacañang is reminiscent of Gloria Arroyo's intransigence amid mounting protests from 2005 onwards.Over the past several weeks, the stench of the Aquino regime's corruption continued to reek.Aquino's insistence that the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is a system by which billions of pesos are being realigned as "savings" for use in priority projects has been thoroughly exposed as a lie. The list of projects and its proponents under DAP recently made public clearly shows that DAP funds were released mainly to Aquino's political allies, especially key officers of the Liberal Party.In particular, large amounts of funds were found to have been disproportionately allocated to Rep. Henedina Abad for her "beautifacation and greening projects" in their small province of Batanes. Congresswoman Abad is the wife of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, who has been under fire for being the chief architect, implementor and defender of the DAP.Over the past few days, Aquino's police chief, Dir. Gen. Alan Purisima, who has long been a close personal aide and stooge of the Aquinos, has been in hot water for having accumulated properties way beyond his salary as a police officer, including vast tracts of land and a mansion with a swimming pool. He has also reportedly received millions of pesos in "contributions" and enjoyed several million pesos in discounts for his personal vehicle.There are overwhelming calls for General Purisima's removal, especially as his failure to clean up the Philippine National Police whose officers have been involved in major crimes has angered the people.Despite having been caught lying through his teeth in his testimonies before the Senate and under questioning by the media, General Purisima still enjoys the unwavering support of Aquino who sees no reason to carry out an investigation into the PNP. This is the same kind of total support that Aquino has given Secretary Abad.Amid numerous allegations of graft and corruption, Aquino insists that his regime continues to be the model of "good governance" and hews to the "righteous path".In a desperate attempt to make it appear that there is popular support for Aquino, his Yellow Army operatives of PR specialists paid for a full-page ad in daily broadsheets calling for another term for Aquino. This is after failing to generate a clamor in social media websites. Over the past month, Aquino's "one-more-term" facebook page only managed to gather a trickle of new fans.Contrary to Malacañang's claims, there is no widespread clamor for an extension of Aquino's term. Still, Aquino's spokespersons continue to stubbornly insist otherwise, asserting that Aquino is still listening to his "bosses" and will remain open to a term extension.The regime's political operatives have failed to mount a campaign for an Aquino term extension because of the overarching socio-economic crisis that has resulted in unprecedented numbers of unemployed and underemployed workers, worsening oppression and bigger numbers of people in the quagmire of poverty.Growing numbers of sectors are demanding an end to Aquino's rule. The most vocal and assertive are the workers, peasants, students and other democratic sectors that are the most oppressed by Aquino's corruption, mendacity, brutality and acquiescence to foreign dictates. Recently, religious groups led by Catholic archbishops and bishops openly called for Aquino's resignation. They have added their voices to the growing ranks of Filipinos disatissfied with the Aquino regime who have been seeking its immediate ouster.Judging by Aquino's statements and actions, he is bound to exert all-out effort to cling to power beyond 2016 either through the election of a proxy or by seeking a second or extended term.To realize their aspiration to oust the Aquino regime, the Filipino people must act with dispatch. They must build their strength to force Aquino out of power by organizing in big numbers in their factories, communities, offices and university campuses. They must strengthen their determination by carrying out political education to firmly grasp the tasks of waging political mass actions to oust the Aquino regime.